Blueprint for Smart Justice Louisiana

The ACLU of Louisiana's Blueprint for Smart Justice is a roadmap for reducing the number of people incarcerated in the state by half by 2025 – saving taxpayers more than $800 million that could be reinvested in making communities stronger and safer.

The Smart Justice 50-State Blueprints are the result of a multi-year partnership between the ACLU, its state affiliates, and the Urban Institute to develop actionable policy options for each state that capture the nuance of local laws and sentencing practices. 

The blueprint includes an overview of Louisiana’s incarcerated populations, including analysis on who is being sent to jail and prison and the racial disparities that are present, what drives people into the system, how long people spend behind bars, and why people are imprisoned for so long. The blueprint offers a calculation on the impact of certain reforms by 2025 on racial disparities in the prison population, fiscal costs, and overall prison population and progress towards a 50% decarceration goal.